Rhiannon: A Short Tribute to Bobby Flynn
Tuesday, October 17th, 2006
The moment he first stepped onto the Idol stage, delivering his semifinals performance, he already casted a spell on countless of viewers across Australia, generating his first ever fan base. But that didn’t apply to me at that time.
When he was announced to be one of the contestants to have secured enough votes to move on to the FINAL 12 spot, we all went speechless -some in an amused way, some in total disbelief. I used to log in to the official Idol website message board, and most of the members were pretty vocal in expressing their hatred towards the announcement.
Comments like these are all over the place:
‘What the heck happened!? Why did that alien from outer space get through over the others?’
‘He’s creepy, and his rendition of the song is creepy too. That’s it! This is the last time I’m watching Idol!’
‘You got it wrong, Australia! Shame on you!’
‘He puts me straight into bed with that boring, weird interpretation of "Under the Milky Way".’
If you asked me, I went off with the fourth one. Indeed, he was really boring in the semifinals. It’s as if he’s about to jump off to bed as soon as he’s done. Sure he has a unique voice and style, but at that moment, I still didn’t get what the judges and some of the audiences were fussing about when they constantly gave him appraisals.
I have no expectation as to what he’s gonna do with Idol. A lot of other people on the boards and I have come up with a thought that he’s gonna be the first one to pack his suitcase in the FINAL 12 show.
But Bobby proved us wrong. Well, not all of us. But he did prove me wrong! Because that guy is getting better and better each week. Now I know why Mark Holden always says: ‘You always surprise us, Bobby! That’s what we like about you.’
Yes, ’surprise’ is a good thing. Everybody loves surprises, and that’s what Mr Flynn offered all the time. He continually changed a song into his own style and sang it as though it’s his own- and that’s where his originality was shown. What a fantastic, different modern-style crooner.
Even when he’s out of his league once and the judges pointed out he lose track, I thought they need to get their ears checked, ’cause that rendition of "Arthur’s Theme" did get me. Maybe it’s for the fact that it’s predictable, and we keep on expecting surprises.
But Bobby did come back with an unexpected adaptation of "Under Pressure". He tried to show he’s under pressure with the competition, but that performance scored him a touchdown. Well done!
Then came the time when he made it to the bottom 3 for the first time, and fellow contestants Ricky and Lisa are in the same position. This happened two days ago- the Monday verdict. After the all-new ‘guitar night’, Bobby’s journey on Idol must come to a stop. 
Because of his hard work and excellent effort, 
we could only gasp in horror. ‘What!? Bobby over the monotonous, flat-voiced Lisa? This can’t be real!’ But he gracefully thanked all of us for having him in the competition, and when asked to perform for us one last time, he really felt honored to do it. With all his mannerisms, we’re really seeing a truly professional artist. Hey, the guy has his own charms =D
Well, last night was an ‘Up Close and Personal’ show, and the remaining contestants have their chance to play their own original materials on stage. This is the first time in any Idol history that contestants get to show off their talent on a deeper level. It has never happened to American Idol, Indonesian Idol, Canadian Idol and other Idol shows. Before Monday night’s verdict, a decision has been made that the finalist who has been voted off will not be able to sing in the ‘Up Close and Personal’ night. But we all knew from the very start that Bobby has been spending half of his life creating his own songs. So they let Bobby in. Phew!
He’s a soon-to-be legend. Well, we all know we ain’t seen the last of Bobby Flynn. I’d be one of the first to line up to buy his debut album the day it’s released 
One day will come, and that day will be Bobby…
Photos courtesy of Australian Idol® produced by Grundy Television PTY Limited, a FremantleMedia Company, for Network Ten based on the format owned by FremantleMedia Ltd and 19 TV Ltd. © 2006 Grundy Television Pty Limited Australia and New Zealand © 2006 FremantleMedia Ltd, rest of the World. Licensed by FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide.
